Since its inception on January 15, 2001, the debate regarding the use of Wikipedia as an educational resource has steadily increased. While many "old guard" academics have simply drawn a line in the sand, a growing number of Gen X and Net Gen academics are taking a second look. Like any resource, Wikipedia has pros and cons, supporters and critics. Nonetheless, no one can argue with the exponential growth that Wikipedia has experienced. “As of July 2013, Wikipedia includes over 27 million freely usable articles in 286 languages, written by over 41 million registered users and numerous anonymous contributors worldwide. According to Alexa InternetWikipedia is the world's seventh-most-popular website. According to comScoreWikipedia receives over 85 million monthly unique visitors from the United States alone” (History of Wikipedia, 2013). The following page(s) of information will summarize, analyze, and evaluate Wikipedia as a viable educational resource. Through consideration of the advantages and disadvantages of Wikipedia in education, suggestions will be made on how to effectively incorporate Wikipedia into student research and an overall judgment will be given regarding the site's usefulness in the classroom. Information compiled, written, and revised by: Sandra Beauchamp, Megan Jagoda, and Jessie Kilgore
Advantages of Wikipedia in Education
For research purposes, Wikipedia can provide general to specific information on just about any topic imaginable.
Wikipedia can be a useful starting point when students are stuck or they need general background before researching further.
Most Wikipedia entries have a table of contents of the page to easily locate specific information related to the topic.
Wikipedia breaks down search items into "disambiguation" (i.e. "Do you mean Batman the T.V. series, the comics, the movie franchise...?")
The sections at the bottom of a Wikipedia page called References, Further Reading, and External Links are extremely helpful for finding reliable source information.
Wikipedia provides "great shortcut[s] to relevant info that might not pop up right away in a Google search" (Mohawk College Library Blog, 2010).
Everyone who has access to a computer and the Internet can add, delete, and revise information on a Wikipedia page. (See corresponding disadvantage.)
Disadvantages of Wikipedia in Education
Because Wikipedia pages are constantly being updated, the site is a living, constantly changing source of information. This may call into question its reliability.
Everyone who has access to a computer and the Internet can add, delete, and revise the information on a Wikipedia page. EVERYONE!
Many teachers, librarians, professors, and administration members are not easily swayed when presented with the benefits of Wikipedia; this may lead to only some students receiving proper instruction and allowance of Wikipedia. In other words, Wikipedia creates a divide among professionals.
Students in general are not being taught how to research properly and Wikipedia is one of the main areas teachers gloss over. Students are also confused on whether or not they should be using Wikipedia based on where their parents and teachers stand on the issue.
Like any encyclopedia, Wikipedia should not be used on the Reference or Works Cited page of a research paper, since those types of essays need to be supported by argumentative (persuasive) scholarly information.
How to Effectively Use Wikipedia in the Classroom
Rather than allow the student notion that Wikipedia is the end-all, be-all source site for research, teachers and media specialists in schools need to actually provide lessons on how to use Wikipedia effectively when their students are researching. And these lessons might need to be tweaked each time, depending on the level of student and/or the research project at hand. The following are some ideas regarding what teachers can do in their classrooms to make sure students use Wikipedia properly:
Teach students about the Reference section! The references at the bottom of most Wikipedia entries were used to compile the information. Students should be locating this section first or before they leave a page, and could use the resources listed there instead, which could lead to more reliable and appropriate sources. Disregarding the user-created content and going to the bottom of the page during a Wikipedia search, students should use these three sections: “References, Further Reading, and External Links. The References list gives you the authorities for bits of information that Wikipedia users have added to the entry – so you can go straight to the source instead of relying on someone else’s interpretation. Further Reading gives you a list of suggested books and articles on the subject. External Links is a list of websites on the topic that Wikipedia users have recommended. If you are looking for web resources, this can be a great shortcut to relevant info...” (Mohawk College Library Blog, 2010).
Distribute a handout on correct student use of Wikipedia! Follow Ms. Chelly Wood's example; she wrote an exceptional blog post about teaching her students how to cite and use Wikipedia as a resource. Linked to this blog post are useful handouts, as well! Best Practice with Wikipedia
Visit the library or use computers to practice! An effective teacher would not only explain and model how to properly use Wikipedia, but he/she would allow the students to practice before completing in-depth research. On classroom laptops, in a computer lab, or with the librarian, students should be given enough time to master locating, citing, and perhaps even editing Wikipedia pages themselves.
Show video clips! Below is a wonderful video summary of how students should really use Wikipedia when researching. Though it targets college students specifically, it's an effective and concise video middle and high school teachers can show their students, too.
While there are a few disadvantages to using Wikipedia as a source of information in the classroom, the pros outweigh the cons overall. This is especially true if the researcher knows how to use the site in the manner Jimmy Wales and the co-founders intended. Wikipedia also offers many teachable moments. For instance, students could be directed to a site to look for discrepancies in facts or citations. This would reinforce the fact that they should never assume that everything on the web is factual or true. By using the strategies listed above, teachers can find ways to show their students excellent researching skills, as well as enhance their critical thinking and evaluative skills in the classroom. When using Wikipedia, both teachers and students need to remember the site's cautionary disclaimers. Wikipedia itself states it best:
It is the responsibility of those who intend to use such a dynamically changing, multi-authored source to ascertain the quality and reliability of articles, and the degree of usefulness, misinformation or vandalism which might be expected, in order to decide what reliance to place upon them. A helpful safeguard is always to reference Wikipedia accurately when it is quoted to allow false or unreliable material to be identified and corrected. (Reliability of Wikipedia, 2013).
Home > Group C Workspace > Learning Activity 4-C-1
Topic: Wikipedia as an Educational Resource
Overview of Topic
Since its inception on January 15, 2001, the debate regarding the use of Wikipedia as an educational resource has steadily increased. While many "old guard" academics have simply drawn a line in the sand, a growing number of Gen X and Net Gen academics are taking a second look. Like any resource, Wikipedia has pros and cons, supporters and critics. Nonetheless, no one can argue with the exponential growth that Wikipedia has experienced. “As of July 2013, Wikipedia includes over 27 million freely usable articles in 286 languages, written by over 41 million registered users and numerous anonymous contributors worldwide. According to Alexa Internet Wikipedia is the world's seventh-most-popular website. According to comScore Wikipedia receives over 85 million monthly unique visitors from the United States alone” (History of Wikipedia, 2013).
The following page(s) of information will summarize, analyze, and evaluate Wikipedia as a viable educational resource. Through consideration of the advantages and disadvantages of Wikipedia in education, suggestions will be made on how to effectively incorporate Wikipedia into student research and an overall judgment will be given regarding the site's usefulness in the classroom.
Information compiled, written, and revised by: Sandra Beauchamp, Megan Jagoda, and Jessie Kilgore
Advantages of Wikipedia in Education
Disadvantages of Wikipedia in Education
How to Effectively Use Wikipedia in the Classroom
Rather than allow the student notion that Wikipedia is the end-all, be-all source site for research, teachers and media specialists in schools need to actually provide lessons on how to use Wikipedia effectively when their students are researching. And these lessons might need to be tweaked each time, depending on the level of student and/or the research project at hand. The following are some ideas regarding what teachers can do in their classrooms to make sure students use Wikipedia properly:
Teach students about the Reference section! The references at the bottom of most Wikipedia entries were used to compile the information. Students should be locating this section first or before they leave a page, and could use the resources listed there instead, which could lead to more reliable and appropriate sources. Disregarding the user-created content and going to the bottom of the page during a Wikipedia search, students should use these three sections: “References, Further Reading, and External Links. The References list gives you the authorities for bits of information that Wikipedia users have added to the entry – so you can go straight to the source instead of relying on someone else’s interpretation. Further Reading gives you a list of suggested books and articles on the subject. External Links is a list of websites on the topic that Wikipedia users have recommended. If you are looking for web resources, this can be a great shortcut to relevant info...” (Mohawk College Library Blog, 2010).
Distribute a handout on correct student use of Wikipedia! Follow Ms. Chelly Wood's example; she wrote an exceptional blog post about teaching her students how to cite and use Wikipedia as a resource. Linked to this blog post are useful handouts, as well! Best Practice with Wikipedia
Visit the library or use computers to practice! An effective teacher would not only explain and model how to properly use Wikipedia, but he/she would allow the students to practice before completing in-depth research. On classroom laptops, in a computer lab, or with the librarian, students should be given enough time to master locating, citing, and perhaps even editing Wikipedia pages themselves.
Show video clips! Below is a wonderful video summary of how students should really use Wikipedia when researching. Though it targets college students specifically, it's an effective and concise video middle and high school teachers can show their students, too.
Digging Deeper into Wikipedia
Overall Judgment of Using Wikipedia in Education
While there are a few disadvantages to using Wikipedia as a source of information in the classroom, the pros outweigh the cons overall. This is especially true if the researcher knows how to use the site in the manner Jimmy Wales and the co-founders intended. Wikipedia also offers many teachable moments. For instance, students could be directed to a site to look for discrepancies in facts or citations. This would reinforce the fact that they should never assume that everything on the web is factual or true. By using the strategies listed above, teachers can find ways to show their students excellent researching skills, as well as enhance their critical thinking and evaluative skills in the classroom. When using Wikipedia, both teachers and students need to remember the site's cautionary disclaimers. Wikipedia itself states it best:
It is the responsibility of those who intend to use such a dynamically changing, multi-authored source to ascertain the quality and reliability of articles, and the degree of usefulness, misinformation or vandalism which might be expected, in order to decide what reliance to place upon them. A helpful safeguard is always to reference Wikipedia accurately when it is quoted to allow false or unreliable material to be identified and corrected. (Reliability of Wikipedia, 2013).
References
Cooperative Library Instruction Project. (2011, July 21). Using Wikipedia for academic research [Video file]. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cql_yVUYj6A
History of Wikipedia. (2013, December 07). Wikipedia. Retrieved July 12, 2013, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Wikipedia
Mohawk College Library Blog. (2010, February 25). Retrieved, July 11, 2013, from http://libraryblog.mohawkcollege.ca/2010/02/25/wikipedia-pros-and-cons/
Reliability of Wikipedia. (2013, July 11). Wikipedia. Retrieved Jly 14, 2013, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reliability_of_Wikipedia
Wood, C. (2012, November 19). Teaching students how to cite Wikipedia: Free worksheets [Blog post]. Retrieved from The English Emporium website: http://englishemporium.wordpress.com/2012/11/19/teaching-students-how-to-cite-wikipedia-free-worksheets/